NZ Post apologises after 8000 undelivered items of mail found in Kaitāia

Kaitāia man Russell Bird with a letter that took four years to reach him.

Thousands of posted items have taken four years to reach their destination in the Far North, with NZ Post blaming the delay on the actions of a former worker.

About 8000 items of unopened mail were discovered at a former NZ Post site in Kaitāia in October last year.

The items had been posted between March and May 2022 to addresses spanning 73 streets in the Far North town.

NZ Post wrote to affected residents this month, saying the mailed items were received at the Kaitāia site but were then handled inappropriately, resulting in non-delivery.

It confirmed the senders of the mail were not involved in the delivery process or the circumstances that caused the delay.

“We would like to assure customers this was an isolated issue, related to the actions of an individual who no longer works for NZ Post,” an NZ Post spokesperson said.

“We take the security of our customers’ mail seriously and were extremely disappointed to have been let down in this way.”

NZ Post has launched an internal review to ensure it was “doing all we can” to reduce the risk of a similar event occurring in the future.

Kaitāia man Russell Bird is among the recipients affected. He wondered how it had been possible for the mail to remain undiscovered for the past four years.

Bird was concerned some of the letters might contain vital information or were for important appointments.

“What if it’s a letter from overseas telling you a loved one has died. Imagine finding that out four years later.

“And what if the delay has cost the person financially? This is not good enough from our national service,” Bird said.

His undelivered mail was a letter from Specsavers dated April 2022.

“My letter wasn’t too important, but I know some others missed out on some important information ... I know a few people really upset to have not got their mail until now.”

NZ Post has apologised to those affected, acknowledging the impact the incident may have had.

“Although the mail is very old, we recognise the delay may have caused issues where a sender had expected a reply or action.”

It said it was working through a detailed process to verify the address of each undelivered item to ensure people receive them.

People can pick their delayed mail up from the Kaitāia Box Lobby, on North Park Drive, using ID.

If a recipient for an item of mail cannot be found and it is unclaimed after three months, the mail will either be returned to the sender if the sender’s address is shown, or forwarded to NZ Post’s Returned Letters’ Office, where it will be processed in accordance with the Postal Services Act.

“We encourage customers to use our letter as evidence with any organisation they may have been delayed in responding to, so they are able to take these exceptional circumstances into account,” NZ Post said.

“We have also written to large senders to explain the situation.”